


Start of Something New

by gemmamalo



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Post- season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2019-02-04 12:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12771351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemmamalo/pseuds/gemmamalo
Summary: High School Fic! Eleven adjusting to "real life things", Eleven and Mike being in a relationship, Dustin/Lucas/Max love triangle things, and Will coming to terms with what's happened to him.Title from High School Musical. Obviously. Thanks, Finn Wolfhard





	Start of Something New

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna go more "domestic" with this rather than try to like, write season 3.  
> This is a preview sort of chapter.  
> This story is Not Yet Written so it may not continue, but a Mike/Eleven high school story keeps poking me in the brain so I'm entertaining it for now.

When Eleven asks to start high school at the same time as her friends, Hopper is apprehensive. He starts to list issues he has with the idea, but she stops him.

She and Mike have talked it through. She knows there’s a lot of things she’ll have to catch up on if she expects to start school for the first time in less than 10 months, but Mike is committed to tutoring her; he had practice from helping Will catch up last year. Anything he can’t teach, the other boys, Mrs. Byers, and Nancy and Jonathan are willing to pick up. 

The next stipulation, and the one she knows Hopper will be most concerned with, is that every class she has will have at least one of her friends in it. Of course, she’s depending on him to pull the strings and make that happen. 

Lastly, she’ll study with Max and the boys every day after school - and she really means it. She’s dedicated to having some degree of a normal life, and school is going to be a big part of that.

Hopper says he’ll think about it. Eleven knows that means yes; if he was going to say no, he would have already.

And so she heads over to Mike’s to tell him the good news.

 

~

 

The Wheeler house is already starting its Christmas transformation, and Thanksgiving hasn’t even happened yet. White lights outlined the house and matching wire deer sat in the yard, not yet lit. They would wait for Thanksgiving to pass to actually buy a tree - it was always a family event, going to a tree lot and picking the perfect one.

Last year Mike hadn’t enjoyed Christmas, not really. This year would be decidedly better.

After school, he runs straight into the basement to chill out for a while before getting started on his homework. He throws his backpack on the floor and plops himself into a chair, only to jump back up when he notices someone sitting under the tent against the wall.

“El!” He gets excited every time he sees her, even though she’s been back for almost a month. He runs over the sit in the tent with her.

El is smiling as they hug. “Mike.”

He eventually leans back. “You know you can come to the front door, right? My parents don’t think you’re bad anymore. You should probably wait until I’m home from school though.”

“School! Go to school next year!”

“Hopper said okay? That’s awesome!”

Eleven frowned slightly. “He says he will think about it. I think we will start studying now though.” 

“We will?”

“Yes! Need to be ready.”

Mike paused. “Okay. I’m not sure where to start though.”

“I can read.”

He laughed. “I know you can read! But there’s just a lot of stuff kids know before they get to high school. Like, eight years worth of stuff. We’ll start teaching when the whole party is here tomorrow.”

“Max, too?” Eleven said quietly. She hadn’t warmed up to the new girl quite yet.

“Max, too. I know how you feel about her, I felt the same way at first. But she’s a valuable member of the party. I promise.”

Eleven begrudgingly accepted this. If Mike was willing to promise over this girl, then he really meant it. Max was part of the party now.

 

~

 

Max, Lucas, Dustin, and Will spent the afternoon at the arcade. 

“Stupid dark at 4pm bullshit. Winter sucks,” Dustin mumbled as they were grabbing their bikes from the rack. Max already had her skateboard - she carried it everywhere. 

Will laughs at Dustin, but he’s the only one who hears. Lucas and Max are cracking up from some inside joke, but the other boys don’t mind. They just get that Lucas and Max are  _ Lucas and Max _ now and things are different. Not better or worse, just different.

Maybe worse, Dustin thinks.

“So we’re going to Mike’s tomorrow?” Lucas asks, more of a statement than a question. He has his arm slung around Max’s shoulder while they wheel their bikes to the road. Dustin wonders if he stole that from Steve.

“Yeah!” Will says. He’s been slowly getting to know Eleven better; he thinks she understands him more than anyone.

Dustin nods. “I’m gonna have to go home first though. Gotta feed the cat while Mom’s at work.”

“Mews still missing?” Lucas joked.

“Shut up.”

“I just hope Tews doesn’t get killed by your next dumb decision.”

“Shut up!”

Max jumps in. “Both of you, shut up! God, you guys are so annoying.”

Lucas makes a kissy face at her. She pushes it away with a smile on her face.

Dustin pretends he doesn’t see. 

Mike sees and smiles as well. Who cares if Lucas and Max are together, as long as everyone’s safe? 


End file.
